Educational Psychology Programs

Our department offers programs and certificates designed to work with particular populations or in particular settings. All of our graduate degree programs offer a robust combination of coursework, practicum, and internship experience, which involves our advanced students providing psychological and behavioral services to local schools and clinics.

Graduate Programs

This program is designed for students who want to work with children and adolescents experiencing a wide range of academic, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Common roles and functions of the School Psychologist include psychological assessment, counseling, consultation, crisis intervention, research, and program evaluation.

 School Psychologists work with students, their families, and school staff in order to help students be as successful as possible in school. The program is designed to provide students with the academic and practical training necessary to become licensed as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. The MA in School Psychology program is fully accredited by the National Association of School Psychologists.

Graduates are eligible to apply for certification as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, which is a nationally recognized professional certification granted by the National Association of School Psychologists.

 

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This degree provides students with a flexible degree plan grounded in the foundational educational psychology areas of human development, learning, motivation, research methods, statistics, and evaluation. Students build on these core areas by complementing their required program coursework with coursework from other areas selected based on personal interests (e.g., public policy, sociology, social work, psychology, and teaching). This design allows students to explore new areas of interest as they deepen their understanding of educational psychology and its applicability to social, political, and academic domains of education.

The coursework in this degree provides students with a strong foundation in Educational Psychology theory and principles as well as the skills to apply this learning to relevant contexts (e.g., educational, clinical, community, industrial/organizational, and home settings). Students who wish to complete an intensive research project have the option of completing a master's thesis for 6 credit hours. 

The Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Behavior Analysis aims to prepare graduate students to become scientist-practitioners trained to provide quality, impactful services for all populations benefitting from behavior analysis. This degree aims to provide students with a foundation in behavior analysis and prepare students to sit for the Behavior Analyst Certification Exam (BCBA®) to obtain national certification and state licensure as a Behavior Analyst. Students will obtain competency in the basic principles of learning with an emphasis on treating children, youth, and adults in community, clinic, hospital, and as consultants in educational settings. The degree program prepares graduates for eligibility to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA®) through approved coursework and practicum opportunities. Typical clients include individuals diagnosed with developmental or other disabilities that can impact prosocial skill development (e.g., Autism, Emotional Disturbance, Conduct Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Phobias) as well as people without disabilities who need systematic support in the development of prosocial skills and behaviors. Certified behavior analysts at the master’s level work in a variety of settings as independent practitioners or contracted employees for an organization (e.g., public school, preschool, private school, clinic, hospital).

 

The educational objectives of this degree are commensurate with professional competence and certification requirements as currently reflected by the professional standards of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.   

  • The Comprehensive concentration is designed to provide the research, academic, and practical training necessary for students to become certified as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and licensed as a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Texas. The program includes research training, coursework, and field-based experiences related to behavior assessment, intervention, and professional issues. It contains all of the coursework required by the Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board. It also embeds the 2,000 experience hours through fieldwork, practice, and research experiences supervised by UTSA faculty. Students completing the comprehensive option will complete their hours at UTSA partner sites. This program prepares students to work in a variety of settings (e.g., clinical, home, community-based, and schools), with a focus on serving people of all ages with developmental disabilities (e.g., autism spectrum disorder).   
  • The Focused concentration contains the research, training, coursework, and field-based experiences required by the Behavior Analysis Credentialing Board and Applied Behavior Analysis International Accreditation Board. However, this concentration embeds flexibility by allowing students to select their fieldwork site from a list of UTSA approved sites. It also does not require students to complete all of their 2,000 internship hours before they graduate. Once students have begun coursework in the Focused concentration, they cannot transfer to the Comprehensive Program without approval by the ABA program coordinator. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

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The Ph.D. program in School Psychology is designed to prepare graduates for careers as scientist-practitioners and professional health service psychologists capable of contributing to the academic, emotional, and social-behavioral well-being of children and adolescents through direct and indirect services, as well as to the science that informs psychological practice. 
 
Doctoral students in School Psychology will attain an understanding of basic content areas in psychology, as well as professional issues including ethical and legal principles, equity, cultural diversity, communication, and quality assurance principles necessary for professional competencies in assessment, intervention, consultation, and supervision of psychological services with diverse populations. Students will also demonstrate scientific knowledge and expertise in research methods and data analysis. Doctoral students are welcome to pursue research topics across a variety of areas, such as psychological assessment, mental health intervention, consultation practices, child development and learning, and education and mental health systems issues. 

Graduate Certificates

The Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Certificate is aligned with the Behavior Analysis Certification Board requirements and is designed to meet the needs of current and prospective students interested in developing proficiency in applied behavioral analysis. This certificate focuses on the perspective of educational psychology and special education from learning theory as it relates to applied behavior analysis.

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Admission Requirements

The Language Acquisition and Bilingual Psychoeducational Assessment (LABPA) Certificate is designed to address the needs of prospective students interested in developing skills in bilingual psychoeducational assessment and foundational knowledge in language acquisition and the bilingual continuum, with an emphasis on Spanish-speaking English Language Learners (ELLs).

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The 15-hour Certificate in Program Evaluation and Applied Research (PEAR) is designed to meet the needs of students interested in developing foundational skills in program evaluation and applied research methods. The certificate provides students with skills and knowledge to prepare them for jobs in school districts, educational research and development organizations, and testing companies. Students pursuing the PEAR Certificate select one of three concentration areas: Program Evaluation, Applied Quantitative Research, and Applied Mixed Methods Research. The opportunity to develop skills in conducting formative evaluations, using stakeholder input, and bringing the lens of implementation science to the planned collection and analysis of data make these courses unique from most other research courses at UTSA. The PEAR Certificate is offered through the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD).

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College of Education and Human Development
Main Building | One UTSA Circle | San Antonio, TX 78249
Phone: 210-458-4370 | education@utsa.edu